With the advent of the Internet and a decline in computer prices, many people are communicating with one another through computers interconnected by networks. A number of different communications programs have been developed to facilitate such communications between computer users. Instant messaging (IM) programs are one type of communication program. IM programs typically have a user interface that presents representations of user selected buddies (i.e., other users of the IM program that have been selected by the user). When a buddy's instant messaging program is connected to the network and the buddy is available, a user may manipulate the user interface to initiate instant messaging communications with the buddy. For example, the user may use the IM program to engage in a real-time textual messaging session with the buddy identified using the instant messaging user interface.
At times, a user may be away from his or her computer or otherwise unavailable to engage in communications with a buddy, even though his or her instant messaging program is connected to the network or otherwise available for communications. In such a situation, a user typically is considered to be “away.” Traditionally, some IM client programs have allowed users to configure preset “away messages” that are sent as textual messages to buddies that attempt to communicate with the user while the user is away. When a buddy sends an instant message to the away user, the user's instant messaging program responds with the preset message, thereby alerting the buddy that the user is away. The instant message sent to the away user may be displayed on the client system running the instant message program so that the away user may view the message when the user returns to that client system.
A user also may be unavailable because his or her instant messaging program is not connected to the network. In such a situation, a user typically is considered to be “offline.” While some instant messaging programs provide no way of sending messages to a buddy in this situation, others (e.g., ICQ) allow messages to an offline buddy to be stored at a server and delivered to the user when he or she later comes online (i.e., when he or she connects the IM client program to the network).